*Official N.L East Thread*

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season is soon starting and there's not enough phil fans to make a phillies season thread
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close to Doc's debut
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1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
Much like the Yankees in the American League, it’s hard to find bad things to say about the Phillies. They’re the three-time defending NL East champions and considering they’re ready to bring back the same core of players that got them to the World Series the past two years, there’s no reason to doubt them. Oh, and they added Roy Halladay. Roy, I’m going to dominate your face for nine innings, Halladay. If Cole Hamels rebounds and J.A. Happ’s 2009 wasn’t a fluke, the Phillies won’t suffer a setback this season. In fact, the pitching doesn’t even have to be that great with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez taking up the first six spots in the order. The problem, however, is that Hamels might not bounce back and Happ’s ’09 season may have been a fluke. There’s also that nagging Brad Lidge closer issue that could haunt this club as well. That said, odds are that the Fighting Phils will be right back at the top of the NL East again this season. They’re too good, too talented and too experienced to fold and they have a great chance to reclaim their title back from the Yankees.



2. Atlanta Braves (11)
A lot of pundits are high on the Braves this year – and for good reason. In Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, their starting rotation is one of the best in the National League. Atlanta has the starting pitching to go toe to toe with the Phillies in the division, but the real question is whether or not they have enough offense. Top prospect Jason Heyward looks as good as advertised, but if he’s not ready to produce then Atlanta’s corner outfield situation is questionable at best. This club has a nice blend of young and veteran hitters, including Heyward, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus, but they’re one or two big injuries away from falling to the middle of the pack in the National League. This club has more than enough talent to push the Phillies in the division and as of now, are the early favorites to win the NL Wild Card. But players like Jones, Glaus and Billy Wagner have to stay healthy and produce or else the Braves will fail to live up to expectations this season.

3. Florida Marlins (18)

The Marlins are usually pretty easy to project nowadays. They’re always slightly better than what you think they’ll be, but just not as good to rank ahead of some of the more talented teams in the National League. Hanley Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in the game and his supporting cast (Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla and Ricky Nolasco) isn’t bad either. In fact, Ramirez and Johnson are reason alone to go to the ballpark on a weekly basis. But unless players like Cameron Maybin, Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio (who was confused for Ricky Henderson for about three games at the start of last season) and prospect Logan Morrison produce, then the Marlins will fall to the middle of the pack this year in the NL. Still, while they’re not as talented as the Mets, over the last seven years they’ve won more games and have spent nearly $600 million less over that span. For whatever reason, Florida always finds a way to be competitive with their young roster and while I don’t think they have enough to succeed in the end, I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a run at the Wild Card again like they did last year.



4. New York Mets (20)
If I were a Mets fan, I would have tried to take a bath with one of my kitchen appliances by now. I don’t mean any disrespect – I’m just concerned with their well being after watching this team underachieve over and over and over again. Every year this club has talent and every year they find a way – whether it be through poor managing, injuries or what have you – to screw it up. The Mets have enough star power in David Wright, Jose Reyes (when healthy), Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran to succeed, but bad luck, incompetence in the front office and poor fundamental play always sinks this club. Then again, bad luck won’t have anything to do with why the Mets will fail this year. Simply put, they don’t have enough starting pitching to succeed. There’s no guarantee that Santana will be 100% all season and after him, the rest of the rotation is under whelming to say the least. Sorry Met fans, but the torture looks like it’ll continue for at least another year.

5. Washington Nationals (29)
There are plenty of people high on the Nationals this season, but I’m having a hard time taking a leap of faith. I realize the additions of Jason Marquis, Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Ivan Rodriguez filled needs, but let’s not confuse these players with Catfish Hunter, Johnny Sain, Dennis Eckersley and, well, Ivan Rodriguez in their primes. I think this club has improved, but some publications believe they’ll finish third in the division and I just don’t see it. Stephen Strasburg isn’t quite ready to save the day yet and therefore the rotation is still similar to the one that allowed 874 runs last year. Marquis should help, but the end of the rotation is scary and Capps might be the only reliever that winds up with a sub 4.00 ERA by the end of the year. While there is hope on the horizon in the form of Strasburg, the Nats just don’t have enough overall talent to get out of the basement of the NL East.
 
This seems about right.  Being a Mets fan I'm looking forward to just one thing.  The countdown to the firing of Omar.
 
Originally Posted by d3simet

I have faith in Mets. We are gonna shock the world.
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It cant get any worse then last season in terms of injuries and overall bad luck.

Its the Phillies division to win but the Mets will be in wild card contention this year.
 
Originally Posted by PhilBalla09

close to Doc's debut
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i hope the Nats rock him on opening day.
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>

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last year was indisputable evidence that Zimmerman owns Wright.

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it's only a matter of time before Strasburg rules the nl east/league.

sleeper player in the NL East:

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Ian Desmond is a stud. the only thing standing in his way is Cristian Guzman (
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THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE NATS!        
 
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[h3]Lidge unlikely to be ready for opener[/h3]Phils' closer expects to stay in Florida; Romero also iffy        

Phils not a lock to win this division.We need a decent closer
 
Originally Posted by JaysForDays

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE NATS!        
As was 2008 and as was 2009, right?


The rest of y'all should just cut your losses and change the thread title to "Philles Win NL East". This division is over before it's even started.
 
Originally Posted by JPZx

Originally Posted by JaysForDays

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE NATS!        
As was 2008 and as was 2009, right?


The rest of y'all should just cut your losses and change the thread title to "Philles Win NL East". This division is over before it's even started.

The last 2 seasons the Phillies really didn't start rolling until around july.  I wouldn't be suprised if things are close between Philly, Florida, Atlanta, and the Mets until late july-early august before Philly starts pulling away.

and regarding the Nationals.  this the offical N.L East thread, not the double A minor league thread.
 
I'd love to win the divish but the phils are gonna be tough. I'd settle for the WC!

2 more yrs to go and we're in our new BallPark!

Let's Go Marlins!
Cam, this is your yr homie!
 
THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE NATS!      
   Well you can hope.  I feel the Phils have the division.  I want them to win it all though.  I'll take getting in as the wc if we can win it all again.
 
Originally Posted by JaysForDays

Ian Desmond is a stud. the only thing standing in his way is Cristian Guzman (
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scratch that.

Mar 28 The Nationals have named Desmond their starting shortstop over Cristian Guzman, the Washington Post reports.
Recommendation: Desmond earned the nod by hitting .278 with a .339 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage this spring, while leading the Nationals with 12 RBI. He'll need to keep up the pace to hold on to the job, however. "We continue to focus on the '10 season," Manager Jim Riggleman said. "But this is a guy who we think can play for us in '10 and in '15. But for the year '10, he's playing really good in spring training. He may not be playing good in May, so Guzman may be our shortstop. To open the season, we're going to give Dessie a shot there to hold that position down. We hope that works."

LET THE IAN DESMOND ERA BEGIN!
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Today vs. Braves: J.A. Happ
Tuesday at Astros: Kyle Kendrick
Wednesday vs. Blue Jays: (Jamie Moyer)
Thursday vs. Pirates: Roy Halladay
Friday vs. Pirates: Cole Hamels
Saturday vs. Pirates: Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ
Sunday OFF DAY: Nobody
April 5: Halladay (Normal rest)
April 6: OFF DAY: (Moyer sim game)
April 7: at Nationals: Hamels  (Normal)
April 8: at Nationals: Blanton (Normal)
April 9: at Astros: Happ (5 days rest)
April 10: at Astros: Halladay (Normal)
April 11: at Astros: Moyer (Normal)
April 12: Home Opener vs. Nationals: Hamels (Normal)
April 13: OFF
April 14: vs. Nationals: Blanton (5 days)
April 15: vs. Nationals: Happ (5 days)
April 16: vs. Marlins: Halladay (5 days)
April 17: vs. Marlins: Moyer (5 days)
April 18: vs. Marlins: Hamels (5 days  
phils rotation.
 
Florida's kids produce, Cantu puts up similar #'s to last year and that bullpen gets settled don't be surprised if they give the Phils a run for their money or even with the division. I like that Braves team.
 
yeah. Braves scare me.

Like I said Phils arent a lock to win this division. Closing is soo ?????? Lidge is hurt so Madsen will prolly close. I believe he was in the top 5 for blown saves last year so...
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A lot of things need to go right with the other four teams for them to have any shot at eclipsing the Phillies.
 
Who cares about the division, division championships are overrated anyway.  Braves for the @+%%+%# Wild Card.
 
I'm a Yanks fan but living down here there's nothing but Braves fans and I must say after seeing a few Spring games Heyward is going to be a problem
 
Braves fan checking in. The braves always seem to be the "hot" team coming out of spring training. Hope they don't disappoint this year.
 
[h1]Lidge gets cortisone shot for elbow[/h1]
Associated Press

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge received a cortisone shot in his surgically repaired right elbow to "jump start" his preparation for the regular season.

The reliever had surgery on his elbow in November and on his right knee and likely won't be ready to pitch until mid-April at the earliest. He had the injection Tuesday after pitching in a minor league game.

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Lidge

Philadelphia team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti said Wednesday that Lidge usually has soreness in his outer elbow early in spring training.

"Because he started a little bit later this year with his throwing that soreness has lingered a little bit longer," Ciccotti said.

An MRI exam wasn't needed, as a physical exam showed no structural damage, the doctor said.

"It's not at all related to the surgery he had in the offseason," Ciccotti said. "The surgery was on the inner aspect of the elbow. In order to jump start him, we decided that we would give him an injection."

Lidge made his fifth appearance in a minor league game this month on Monday. The velocity on his fastball, typically in the low-to-mid 90s during the regular season, hasn't reached 90 mph yet.

"We got to a point where it was kind of stagnant for a couple of weeks," Lidge said. "It wasn't going up like it normally should go up in spring training.

"My arm strength is good and my slider was coming around and everything else was going the way it should, but velocity was not going. Rather than projecting on when it will, we decided to take action into our own hands, get a cortisone shot and speed the process up."

Lidge, who was originally scheduled to appear in minor league games Thursday and Sunday, will instead throw a long-toss session Friday. If that goes well, he'll throw off the mound in a bullpen session Sunday.

"This puts you a couple days behind where you want to be," Lidge said. "That being said, if it works, like we're hoping it's going to, it's going to speed up things a lot on the other side of that."

Lidge is entering his third season with the Phillies. In 2008, he converted all 48 of his save opportunities in the regular season and playoffs to help the Phillies win their second World Series title in franchise history.

In 2009, he led the majors with 11 blown saves and finished 0-8 with a 7.21 ERA.

"You want to have Brad Lidge pitch closer to what he was in 2008, whether he is going to do that or not isn't going to be known until he gets his health issues resolved," Philadelphia general manger Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "Once he gets those resolved, the hope is that he's pitching closer to that way he was in 2008 than 2009."

Veteran setup man Ryan Madson will open the season as the Phillies closer.



     
  
 
I expect Chipper to play 120, Glaus maybe 80...

Unless Heyward is gonna hit .400 and 80 bombs, not sure the rest of the lineup is gonna make it up...

...and I get the feeling that Melky is gonna end up there with Brian Jordan as guys I hated having to watch.
 
Phillies offense is so good they can make the playoffs just outscoring everybody, and even when they are contained they score late.

ATL will stick around because of their starters.

Marlins will just be pests as they always are but not serious contenders.
 
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